Thursday, 12 June 2014

FRICTION is a phenomenon that is part of our daily lives - in one sense we would find most difficult to survive without it yet in another it can be most expensive to minimise.

It can be simply identified as the resisting force that arises when one surface slides, or tries to slide, over another. It is commonly the textural property measured from packaging materials, shaving gels, cosmetic sponges, etc.

Friction can be a limitation to us; for example, the friction of packaging can be a major limiting factor in the speed of packing machines. Additives are often used to improve the lubricity of surfaces, this is known as 'slip'. Polythene is added to packaging to improve slip characteristics.

Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Would you like to use a texture analysis system which provides multiple loading of samples and their subsequent testing with ‘walk-away’ time for the duration of all tests?

If high volume, repetitive testing is causing a bottleneck in your operation, automating to meet critical deadlines can be a business imperative. An investment in automation can be justified for a number of reasons, all of which directly impact your laboratory's contribution to profit. 1: Automated Linear Indexing System (ALIS) This system enables the loading of multiple test samples prior to testing and does not require constant supervision by the user during testing. It is integrated seamlessly with a TA.XTplus texture analyser with quick and easy set-up and sample mounting.

Test specimens are typically located in bespoke support plates. Then, with prompted steps, testing conditions are set, tests performed, and results reported with little or no operator involvement. Skilled technicians are free to perform more sophisticated tasks, while accurate, repeatable testing information is generated automatically.